A certified court document has revealed that former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele earned a total annual remuneration of N350 million during his tenure.
In addition to his salary, Emefiele also received N75 million in quarterly reimbursements and over $6 million in estacodes for international travel.
These revelations emerged in a ruling of the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division, which overturned a previous final forfeiture order against several properties and assets linked to Emefiele.
The court’s decision was based on the fact that the lower court had not fully evaluated the totality of the evidence presented in the original forfeiture proceedings.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had accused Emefiele of acquiring the properties and assets through proxies and corporate entities using illicit funds.
However, Emefiele presented documents showing his income history from Zenith Bank, where he previously served as Managing Director, and his 10-year tenure as CBN Governor.
The Court of Appeal noted that Emefiele’s total declared earnings could indeed afford the assets in question.
The court also observed that there were material conflicts in the affidavit evidence submitted by both parties, which could only be resolved through oral testimonies and cross-examination.
As a result, the court ordered a fresh hearing of the case and remitted it to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court for reallocation to a different judge.
Interestingly, the court upheld the final forfeiture of $2,045,000 in cash to the Federal Government, as Emefiele had not contested the seizure of the cash sum.
However, the justices were not unanimous in their reasoning, with one justice dissenting and arguing that the original forfeiture should stand.
